Saturday, November 18, 2006

NeOn B. presents *Twist and Shout* mix


Here comes my new mix that is 2 hours madness of twisted electronic music, from contemporary classics to less known gems. Including such producers as Pan-Pot, Anders Trentemoller, James Holden, Dominik Eulberg, Santi Xpansul, Stephan Bodzin etc. (see the track-list), as well as an unreleased (yet) remix of The Knife's song (here I should give credit to OhMyGoshParty guys for making it available). Due to technical reasons the mix is split into two parts.

I hope that you will enjoy it, and feedback is always welcome.

Fasten your seat-belts, and bon voyage!

Neonly yours,
N.B. aka Hencha

NeOn B. - *Twist and Shout* mix part 1

NeOn B. - *Twist and Shout* mix part 2


Part 1:

Pinch - Qawwali [Planet Mu]
Jens Bond & Benno Blome - La Sepia [Sender]
Pan-Pot - Black Currant [Mobilee]
Sweet n Candy - Hit The Points [Opossum]
Alexi Delano & Xpansul - Vegetotherapy [Plus 8]
Extrawelt - Fernweh [Kompass]
Dirt Crew - Largo (Dominik Eulberg rmx) [Dirt Crew]
The Knife - Like a Pen (Stephan Bodzin rmx) [unreleased]
Trentemoller - Take Me Into Your Skin [Poker Flat]

Part 2:

James Holden - 10101 [Border Community]
Alex Smoke - Meany [Soma]
Repeat Repeat - Why Must [Soma]
Jens Bond & Benno Blome - Tentacular [Sender]
Rekorder - Rekorder 6.3 [Rekorder]
Audion - Titty Fuck [Spectral Sound]
Konrad Black - Coma Couch Surfin [Items & Things]
Bill Bolls - Burner (Gauchel rmx) [Schieber]
Heinrichs & Hirtenfellner - You Are I [Supdub]
Xpansul & Daweed - What is it [MSX]
Zombie Nation - Boostar [UKW]
James Holden - Lump [Border Community]

It's gonna be hot!

I've learned great news: on December 9 there will be the European Culture Capital 2007 opening night in Luxembourg, and the line-up on the electronic music hall is just brilliant -- Henrik Schwarz, Ame, Para One, Riton! I guess I don't need to introduce you to these ones of the most hottest producers and DJs at the moment.


Para One - Def Tea Machine

Riton - Square Eyes

Henrik Schwarz and Freestyle Man - Jena

Ame - Rej (A Hundred Birds Beatless Mix)


p.s. A note for friends: I could provide hosting if some of you decided to come to this event.

Всё супергут


Today it feels that yesterday I had a few beers too much, on the other hand, DJ Shantel's balkan beats and Eastern European music and drinking goes hand in hand... Yes, his performance was fantastic despite the strange venue for this kind of music -- the ultra-modern philharmony building in Luxembourg.

He started his set in the foyer right after the concerts of Kocani Orkestar and Mahala Rai Banda (which where good, but wouldn't say that supergut). Can you imagine the mood of an official reception (properly dressed up people of all age wandering around with glasses in their hands) and Shantel firing out a funny but rude Russian song Всё супергут (Everything's supergut -- is it Leningrad btw?) and making some funny comments/jokes on top? So the first impression was wierd, but anyway he succeeded to make the party happen right away -- the stuff he played would make even a deadman dance. Of course, it wasn't just DJing, it was more of making a show, Shantel is just that kind of person (and it didn't even matter that his Russian accent was probably fake, because he is from Frankfurt, and actually that's her mother who comes from Bucovina in Romania/Ukrain). The show elements included, for instance, giving vodka to the crowd, asking girls dance on a DJ-table, and a lot of singing on top of his records. It was lots of fun, I highly recommend seeing him whenever you have a chance.

Said this, I'd like to share a funny song, which is not really gypsies/balkan song, but anyway works well for me. It's a girl from Tatarstan with her project Superalisa.

The link to: Superalisa - EVM-01
http://www.zshare.net/audio/superalisa-evm_01-mp3.html

Friday, November 17, 2006

Gypsies coming to the town


It's a party time! I'm really looking forward to experiencing the concert tonight -- Kočani Orkestar and Mahala Rai Banda are performing, followed by DJ Shantel. Should be loads of enchanting and energetic gypsies/balkan music.

DJ Shantel is the guy who is responsible for two brilliant compilations (on K7 Records) titled as Bucovina Club. He is also doing remixes and production himself, merging ethnical gypsies music with some electronic beats.


See you later, and: Carpe Diem!

Monday, November 13, 2006

NB! Chart -- October/November


Due to travelling and other things that kept me busy I haven't been checking the new releases so much recently. Anyway, there are some fresher and some less fresh things that were of my particular interest last month or so.

It might happen that I'm wrong but Trentemoller's new album is not very very outstanding, I would say. Don't get me wrong, it's a top quality record and I like it, but it is not astonishing. No big surprises for me. And probably I wish there were more dancefloor tracks in it.

> Xpansul & Daweed - Autopsy [MSX]

Sindicato is a Spanish label, one of my recent discoveries, which focuses on deep but groovy tech-house records. The main names behind this imprint are: Daweed (David González), Xpansoul (Santiago Ferrer) and Fernando Gullón as well as Alexi Delano. I remember A.Delano (and his A.D.N.Y. moniker) from the 90s when he got released by such Swedish labels as Hybrid, Svek, Loop Records etc. It was nice surprise to find out that he is involved in this Sindicato Crew nowadays. He together with Xpansul has a new release on Plus8 -- Intelligence Reframed EP, providing 4 twisted techno tracks, a bit in that Alex Under style. Nice, worth to be checked definetely. Here, however, I have chosen Xpansul's and Daweed's track that was released back in summer.

> Audion - Mouth to Mouth [Spectral Sound]

Matthew Dear's latest production offers 12 minutes of a truly minimal craziness.

> Bill Bolls - Burner (Gauchel rmx) [Schieber]

This is not new, but somehow I missed it when it came out. However, not to be missed!

> FSOL - Lifeforms (Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhmes Simetikon 001-06 & 002-06 Re-Edits) [Virgin]
Gabor Schablitzki & Sören Bodner simply adds an up-to-date beat to the all time classic, and it works!

> Ost & Kjex - Milano Model [Dialect]

I really like these funky still freaky Norwegian guys, this time on French label. This track sounds as their another track Kjexterminate, just more "electronic". The duo is just released by Crosstown Rebels too, with even more dance-floor orientated track (How Not To Be A Biscuit).

> DJ Koze - Snauzi Peitsch [Kompakt]

Koze's brilliantness and wierdness on the Stomping at the Clubfoot EP, served by Kompakt.

> The Egg - Walking Away (Dusty Kid Pop Ga-Ga Remix) [Great Stuff]

So sweet, so pop. (See also the previous post.)

> Konrad Black - Coma Couch Surfing [Items & Things]

Amazing track. I'd love to hear this one loudly on a good quality club sound system.

> James Holden - Lump [Border Community]

Holden's album The Idiots Are Winning is out on Border Community. The title track is so fucked up that even Richard James wouldn't be ashamed. Although I must admit that entire album is rather experimental by that meaning profound electronic fx manipulations (sounds like tweaking Ableton Live). Furthermore, it's a conceptual record dealing with polictics. For instance, track called Intentionally Left Blank consists of 2:05 minutes of a pure silence (hello, Mr. Cage!).

> Zombie Nation - Boostar [UKW]

Another intriguing LP - Black Toys by Zombie Nation - has been released on Florian Senfter's (who is the main zombie) label UKW. I've been always thinking that these guys are very interesting producers, in their own original way blending together electro, techno, hip-hop, IDM... This album is no exception - for those who like innovative but still danceable and playful electronic music. Some other reference names that sounds sort of similiar: Remute, Oliver Koletzki and to less extent -- Boys Noize.

Rrrrr....iga!

Hallo out there! I haven't posted anything for a while, so I think it's a time for a new entry.

How am I? - I hear somebody asking. Well, +/- ok, recovered, back to work etc. I had a wonderful time in Riga, actually lots of DJ-ing this time - 5 nights in 10 days. The so called micro-tour, which included spinning with ZeDmitry in 3 different bars/clubs in row, beated all my expactations - so good it was! Tons of a good energy after rocking nights at Pulkvedis and Casablanca, and some deeper excursions at the Golden Bar. Thanks to everybody who came and supported! In fact I was a bit worried before, because it seemed that these venues (first two) had become more pop, less electronic, but eventually everything was perfectly ok, proving that e-music isn't just for nerds, and even "mainstream" people can get into the contemporary electronic dance music groove. And that DJ-ing is not just a technical thing, but, in fact, it's a very subtle and emotional thing.

Some songs turned out to be the unofficial anthems of this "tour". As far as I can remember those include well-known but still not too much played in Latvia: Booka Shade's Mandarine Girl and White Rooms, Ame's Rej, C.Craig's remix of Goldfrapp's Fly Me Away as well as the beautiful e-pop song - Dusty Kid Pop Ga-Ga remix of The Egg's Walking away, and Tobi Neummann's (aka Glove) remix of Miss Kittin's Rippin Kittin. To my surprise apart from these electrohouse anthems some less known, more techy and deeper things had a great response, for instance, all trax on the great Sindicato Crew e.p. (that's a mini-compilation by various artists from the Madrid based Sindicato label, a bit more about it in my chart, which is already on its way) and Sex Drive by Format:B (that's Opossum stuff) to mention few.

Thanks again, and we'll be back!

Golden Boy with Miss Kittin - Rippin Kittin (Glove's Tension Club Mix)

p.s. Photos from these events you can check here